Columns

MARIA KOZAKIEWICZ

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 9, 2011

I still remember my first reading of the famous Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."

I stumbled upon this text while browsing through the rich library of my priest-friend. The book of Psalms I was holding in my hands was small and tattered, with many notes and exclamation marks in the margins.

MARK PICKUP

My wife, LaRee, never knew her maternal grandmother. Her grandmother's name was Dora and she suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. Dora was institutionalized in a mental hospital in 1932 at 34 years of age.

Seventy-five years ago the shame and stigma of having a family member in a mental institution was so great that few people in the family ever mentioned Dora. She never got out of a mental hospital and eventually died there. Life went on and it was as though Dora never existed. It seemed that everyone forgot about her — but my wife did not forget.

So the Mass is boring, is it? What would help? Perhaps a brass band marching through the church? Maybe replacing the praying with card or video games of one's choice? Or, might such new wrinkles also become boring once they had been tried a few times?

Complaints about the Mass being boring sound much like the whining of the Israelites after they had received the miracle of manna in the desert: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we detest this miserable food" (Numbers 21.5).

FR. RON ROLHEISER, omi

Several years ago, a friend of mine made a very un-Hollywood type of marriage proposal to his fiancé: He was in his mid-forties and had suffered a number of disillusioning heartbreaks, some of which, by his own admission, were his own fault, the result of feelings shifting unexpectedly on his part.

Now, in mid-life, struggling not to be disillusioned and cynical about love and romance, he met a woman whom he deeply respected, much admired, and with whom he felt he would like to build a life. But, unsure of himself, he was humble in his proposal.

RALPH HIMSL

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 5, 2011

The English language and no doubt many languages have an expression that covers the trap implied in the words, "I don't mean to criticize, but . . ." The use of these words seeks forgiveness of those listening for what follows. I find myself about to step into that trap.

Today's Gospel plunges us into a serious discussion between Jesus and some Temple bigwigs, the chief priests and elders.

GORDON SELF

Alberta's new Distracted Driver Legislation came into effect Sept. 1. It is now illegal to use hand-held cell phones, text, manually input GPS data, read, write or engage in personal grooming while driving.

Alberta has one of the toughest laws in Canada, joining other provinces in clamping down on the growing trend of inattentive drivers behind the wheel.

It is long past time for the National Hockey League to put an end to fighting and head shots, whether intentional or unintentional. The three former NHL "enforcers" whose lives ended this summer at their own hands underlines the fact that players are exploited in order to heighten a gladiatorial atmosphere in what is already a rough game.

As well, Sydney Crosby's slow recovery from a concussion resulting from a cheap head shot is only the latest in a long series of head injuries that seriously impair hockey players' ability to live full and productive lives.

FR. RON ROLHEISER, omi

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, in one of his dialogues with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, was asked: "What are you trying to do?" His answer was something to this effect: I'm trying to write a Christology that is large enough to include the full Christ because Christ isn't just a divine saviour sent to save people; Christ is also a structure within the physical universe, a path of salvation for the earth itself.

What is meant by this? How is Christ a structure within physical creation?